Citi signs up to Apple Pay

In a statement, the bank said the mobile wallet service had been launched “to enhance the customer experience” for its credit card customers.

More than that, the bank said there were security and privacy merits of giving customers the option to pay with Apple devices in-store, using either TouchID – or FaceID on the iPhone X – to shop online.

Citi’s credit card customers in Hong Kong and Singapore can also now use Apple Pay, with Taiwan to follow later in 2018.

Apple Pay arrived in Australia in November 2015. ANZ was the first of the big four banks to sign up to the payments platform in April 2016.

But the contactless payment method has been met with resistance by other banks – particularly the remainder of the big four, who have partnered, built or deployed other mobile wallets and payments services instead.

Citi has also offered Samsung Pay since it was launched in June 2016.